You Know You're an English Nerd When...

As you all know, I'm an unabashed and unapologetic English Lit nerd. I am proud of my nerd status in this realm, and I embrace it fully. Far from being a pejorative phrase, the title "nerd" is pride-worthy, in my estimation. I think John Green expressed it quite nicely when he stated that...

Some of you may recognize this quotation since I have the exact same poster on my classroom wall!

Today, as I pondered what I was going to put up here for this week's post, I thought of a YouTube video I love, and I thought to myself, what an awesome example of anthropomorphism! I can't wait to share it with my seniors when we start studying poetry next semester! Then an epiphany descended upon me...how many other people can seriously say they have a favorite example of anthropomorphism in popular culture? 'Tis a select group, and I think many of you can count yourselves among the few, the proud, the increDIBBLE lit nerds. :) Here it is, for your viewing pleasure:

Anthropomorphism at its hilarious best (IMHO)

So this week's participation opportunity is a fun and facile one! You're going to add on to what I started here by providing extensive commentary and personal reflection (and links if you wish) whilst finishing the following sentence:

You know you're an English Lit nerd/aficionado when...

I can't wait to see what you guys come up with! This should be amusing. :) There are so many more I could add to my list, including why I favor a certain NFL team (the Baltimore Ravens, #edgarallanpoerocks), how I can't help reading into almost everything as a double-entendre, how I have to practice deep breathing skills when I see grammatical errors in published materials...

Creative Thinking, Creative Teaching: Pondering the Method Behind Mama Dibs' Instructive Madness

Hi, super seniors!

For this week's participation opportunity, I thought I'd have you ponder WHY I've crafted the Heart of Darkness presentation/project in the way that I have.

First, read the following article: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb13/vol70/num05/Learning-from-Creative-Teachers.aspx

Then, craft a 3E response in which you consider how creative learning experiences like my short story project help enhance the learning experience. How/where/when have you had similar experiences? Tell us about them and what made them special or memorable. Why do you think I place such value on having a balance of fun and fundamentals? Use the article to back up your points.

I think it's important to note that I'm not looking for you to heap praise on me for the methods I use in the classroom. :) Rather, I want you to consider the pedagogical implications behind this style of teaching and try to understand and appreciate it...even though said pedagogy might take you a bit out of your educational comfort zone.

Why Study Literature? (the AP Lit edition)

Hi, sweet seniors!

I hope you had a lovely three-day weekend. It's nice to have a little extra time to recharge your intellectual batteries, right? I know I feel that way, especially after the first week or so of school.

Remember, you have until FRIDAY AT 8AM to submit your scintillating and 3E response to this prompt. Remember that you should 1.) compose/save your responses in Word and then cut and paste them into the comment box here, 2.) avoid the "preview" button like the plague, 3.) not freak out if I don't approve your response immediately because I wait until after the due time to approve them, and 4.) email me your response if you're worried it didn't go through.

The title of this blog post is "Why Study Literature?" And that, essentially, is the question I'm asking you to ponder in your response. Note that EVERY WORD in the question, however, is packed with meaning. I have not asked "Why do we read novels?" or "Why study English?" As you will learn, in this class EVERY WORD MATTERS. Appreciating and analyzing diction, whether in a poem, prose excerpt, or a prompt, is of paramount importance. So make sure you're focusing your written efforts on the question you've been asked.

Of course, this wouldn't be an Advanced Placement course if I weren't making this a bit more of a challenge, so here's where things get a little more involved. You're going to read and synthesize four documents before composing your response. And you will incorporate said documents in your argument as evidence to support your claim(s). I also welcome you to use your own experiences with studying literature as a way to inject personal voice into your written response; you do not need to be entirely objective in your prose style, at least for the purposes of this blog entry (when it comes to writing AP essays, that's a different story for a different day).

So, without further ado, here are the sources you need to read and cite (appropriately--include the author's name in parentheses after quotations/references!) in your carefully crafted response:

Source A (Gopnik): http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/why-teach-english

Source B (Chiaet): http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/novel-finding-reading-literary-fiction-improves-empathy/

Source C (Harvard): “A study at Harvard Medical School has shown that students are successful in their medical studies regardless of undergraduate concentration, providing that they have had adequate science preparation. Students are urged to strive for a balanced and liberal education rather than specialized training. No preference is given to applicants who have majored in the sciences over those who have majored in the humanities.” – Harvard Medical School Admissions website 

Source D (Brooks): http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/opinion/brooks-the-humanist-vocation.html?_r=0

I can't wait to read your responses. You guys are AMAZING, and we're going to have such a great year of studying literature together!

P.S. For those of you who didn't have me as your English 2 Honors teacher, I thought I'd include a link to the quizlet set of the words I teach my sophomores (Dibble Diction), so here it is. Take a gander and see how many you know--they are WONDERFUL words! And those of you who are returners might want to test yourself on how many you remember. Hopefully plenty! :)

https://quizlet.com/16536961/dibble-diction-e2hehap-vocab-2017-18-flash-cards/